Snowmobiler rescued from deep crevasse in Alaska

ANCHORAGE, Alaska
- An Alaska man who fell about 80 feet after his snowmobile plunged into a crevasse on a glacier said he had just decided to turn around because of concern about avalanche danger.

Tom Douglas, 41, of Fairbanks, landed unhurt on his feet on a ledge Thursday, with his snowmobile wedged in a narrow space about 30 feet above him.

"The area I was on, it was like, man this just doesn't feel right," he told the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner ( http://is.gd/mKegew) on Friday. "I turned to get out of there and, boom, I fell through the air."

Douglas and his machine fell through a snow bridge as he led a group of snowmobilers who were conducting ice and snow tests around Jarvis Glacier in Alaska's interior. The other members of the group determined Douglas was unhurt and left to seek help.

The Rescue Coordination Center dispatched Alaska Air National Guard crews, including a helicopter team that lowered a harness and climbing tools to Douglas. He spent about eight hours in the crevasse before he was rescued.